More heritage sites destroyed in Iraq -- And ISIS brags about it!

Christopher Jones is a Ph.D student in ancient Near Eastern history at Columbia University in New York.

ISIS released another series of photographs of the demolition of shrines and mosques yesterday. Many of the photos show the already well documented destruction of the shrines of Jonah and Seth and the tomb of Imam Hassan Aoun al-Din in Mosul last month. Nevertheless, others show destruction of other sites not widely reported previously:

The Tomb of the Prophet Daniel

Mosul official Zuhair al-Chalabi told al-Sumaria News on July 24 that the Tomb of Daniel in Mosul had been destroyed, but his claim was not widely reported. ISIS have now released photos claiming to show the shrine being destroyed. I have been unable to locate any photographs of the shrine before its destruction in order to confirm the reports.

At one point riverbank erosion caused the structure to begin leaning and massive buttresses had to be constructed to keep it from collapsing into the river. Its interior was decorated with ornate carvings, mosaics and architectural features, all of which are now gone since it has been blown into tiny pulverized pieces.

Tomb of Sheikh Qadeeb al-Ban al-Mosuli

Sheikh Qadeeb, born Abu Abdullah Ibn Isa Ibn Yahya Ali al-Mosuli, was another local figure in Mosul and both a disciple of and son-in-law to the 12th century Persial Sufi imam Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani.

Pictures claim to show his shrine and tomb being destroyed. I am unable to find any pre-destruction photographs to confirm.

Others

Images published by ISIS show the destruction of two sites labeled the Tomb of Ibrahim and the Shia al-Faisaliyah Mosque. No other information is available.

al-Mufti Mosque

According to CNN, last week Iraqi Air Force Su-25 attack aircraft bombed the al-Mufti Mosque inwestern Mosul, which an Iraqi government security official and two local residents alleged was being used as a military recruiting center by ISIS. There are no reports as to what damage, if any, the mosque sustained in the raid.